2016 Lenten Devotional

Dear Parish Family,

Welcome to the 2016, Church of the Ascension, Lenten Devotion booklet. This year’s booklet consists of 40 personal reflections to use as a daily guide for your personal journey through Lent (Sundays are omitted). Thank you to all who worked on the devotional; it would not be possible without your participation.

Lent is a season marked by acts of prayer, giving alms to the poor, and fasting. Our hope is that this devotional will provide you with the spiritual nourishment you need to allow a deepening of your relationship with God, yourself, your Church of the Ascension community, your loved ones, and those you meet in your daily lives.

We look forward to seeing what discussions are sparked by these personal reflections.

Lenten Devotions 2016

When I have had the privilege of spending time with someone who is dying, it has brought me to what the Celts call “a thin place.” It’s an intense time of heightened everything. It’s painful, but also puts me in touch with what is most important, and also with the sense that the veil between … [ More → ]

“All under the leaves and the leaves of life / I met with virgins seven / And one of them was Mary mild / Our Lord’s Mother of Heaven.” This is the first verse of a beautiful carol introduced to me by a devout musician friend in Holy Week. It seemed appropriate to include this with today’s readings not only because of its contrast with Isaiah’s stark prophesy and Psalm 22 but also… [ More → ]

As Jesus prepares for his death, his death which he knows is coming, his death which he knows is the fulfilling of scripture, his death which he knows will seal the covenant of God’s unending bond with us as his beloved, Jesus spends his last evening with those he loves. Over the course of the … [ More → ]

Odd John just can’t play well with the synoptic kids. He describes Jesus as the bread of life in Capernaum, several chapters before this Passover meal. Here, bread (consecrated?) is primarily used to implicate Judas … by intinction, no less. So for Judas, the first Eucharist becomes a Black Mass. He takes the bread from Jesus, an outward and visible sign… [ More → ]